"What did I tell you about staying behind me?" Gil-Galad pushed himself harder, casting off his cloak to relieve himself of the extra weight. Moments later he was even with Elrond. "Now, behind me, as I told you!" His arm thrust out to push Elrond back, but it was caught, and the two of them came to a halt.
"Why do you keep me back? Let me stand with you!" yelled Elrond defiantly.
"No!" roared Gil-Galad, shoving Elrond back. "For the love of the Valar Elrond, listen to me, and listen to me well. If we succeed, you will still be needed in this world, not me. You are young, you have goals, thoughts of a family. I have achieved all I ever wanted to accomplish, and more. Perhaps your time will come tomorrow, or in a week, or perhaps never, but my time is now," he said, clasping Elrond's hand with his own.
Gil-Galad pulled away and began to run once more to his destination, while Elrond stood and clutched his hand around the small object within it. His pause was brief as the enemy began closing in again, and Elrond drew his sword and charged his way up behind the Noldorin King.
The seconds it took to reach him seemed an eternity for Elrond. Somehow he managed to fend off anything that tried to move into his path, but his efforts, in his mind, were too little too late. Years of fighting had come down to this final stand, and Elrond was too far to be more than an observer of the events that occurred.
- - -
"M'lord," spoke Celebrian sharply, "perhaps you should conclude your tale for this evening," she advised. She looked down at the trembling elfling in her lap, his eyes closed tight. "He can be very emotional," she whispered to Elrond. Haldir said something that was muffled between the folds of Celebrian's dress and the plush fur of his horse. Celebrian translated by saying, "He says he is sorry to make you remember."
"No, I am the one who should be sorry," sighed Elrond. "I am sorry I scared you, Haldir," added Elrond.
A few more inaudible words were offered as Haldir still had his back turned to Elrond, and Celebrian said carefully, "He says he is not scared now, just sad. He also wants to know..." Celebrian offered an apologetic look. "He wants to know if Ereinion was buried in Lindon or Mordor, because the books never say."
"Neither," answered Elrond. He closed his eyes, remembering back only a few years ago when the incident had occurred. "There was nothing left to bury. His shield, his spear, his crown, those things remained, but his body... there was nothing but ash."
Turning around slowly and wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, Haldir asked, "But then how will he come back if his body is gone?"
Elrond smiled. "The part of him that matters is not gone. His spirit is waiting in the Halls of Mandos, and one day, if the Valar permit it, he will be reborn into a new body, just like his old one. But what he looked like, that never was the important part. The important part is the part that made him who he was."
"When will he come back?" asked Haldir.
"Oh, I do not know the answer to that," replied Elrond. "If I did, I would be able to plan a big party for him ahead of time, and invite everyone to celebrate."
"Could I come?"
Elrond nodded and chuckled. "Of course you could come. And we could listen as Gil-Galad told you stories about himself. And one day, we will," he added with confidence, looking much happier than he had since the end of the last age. "Until then, he can still live on through memories, and through these tales like the ones I have told you and the ones you have read. And if you keep telling those tales..."
